“Time To Move On From O’neill Dismissal”

“Time To Move On From O’neill Dismissal”

“It is time to move on from the dismissal of former Taranaki District Health Board chief executive, John O’Neill,” said Mr Ian Powell, Executive Director of the Association of Salaried Medical Specialists, today.

“Nothing can escape the point that Mr O’Neill’s leadership style, considered by many to be autocratic, was incompatible with a modern public health service that depends so much on cooperation and the goodwill and dedication of health professionals.”

“Mr O’Neill was unpopular with Taranaki senior doctors and had clearly lost the confidence of his board and a number of senior managers.”

“A critical factor behind the costs associated with the termination of Mr O’Neill’s employment was his extraordinary open-ended sick leave entitlement for which the original board that appointed him was responsible. If anyone has to be brought to account for the costs, it should be that former board.”

“We need to move on and let the new chief executive Tony Foulkes develop collaborative working relationships with senior doctors and other health professionals,” concluded Mr Powell.

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